SIMI LACKS RIGHT SPACE FOR BIG TOP; CITY GROWTH TO FORCE CIRCUS TO SKIP TOWN.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

It's a sign of the times, say organizers who bring the circus to Simi Valley each year, that there was no vacant land available to pitch the big top this fall.

The corner lot near City Hall is under construction for a new movie theater complex. A previously used lot along Cochran Street is now a Target store. And one of the main pieces of open spaces - the Simi Valley Days site - is still being graded and is unavailable.

That means Circus Vargas won't be pulling into Simi Valley in October, organizers say, although they hope to return next year, possibly at the Simi Valley Days site.

``It's the first year we've really had a problem because of the growth in Simi Valley,'' said Tom Mackel, president of the Simi Valley Cultural Association, which organizes the annual circus visit. ``It really shows a need not just for a circus, but for other organizations that might want to come to town.''

City officials agreed, and said that growth has left a dwindling supply of open spaces for such events.

``It's sad, but I think the point is it's getting harder and harder,'' said Mayor Greg Stratton.

Stratton said the city's fairgrounds committee was created a few years ago to delve into this issue, and the result was a plan for the creation of the Simi Valley Days site at First Avenue and the Ronald Reagan Freeway, where officials hope to one day open a mall.

That site was to be used in October for the circus; however, officials said it is not yet ready for use. Although Simi Valley Days was just held on the property last weekend, the site still needs upgrades, officials said, and they did not want to postpone work while the circus was in town.

The City Council this week extended the lease on the site with the Simi Valley Days organizers for one year, after which, the site is to be made available for other groups to use, Stratton said.

``Our hope is, of course, the First Street site will be available,'' he said. ``In the meantime, we're kind of stuck with what we've got.''

What is available, according to circus organizers, wasn't much.

Mackel said the group had considered one other property, but it was being used and is potentially too close to residents and could create a noise problem.

He said the cultural organization usually receives from $6,000 to $10,000 from the circus visit, about one-fifth of its budget, and is looking for other fund-raising opportunities this year.

``It would be nice to have space,'' he said, and city officials agree.

``There is no doubt it's been more and more difficult as the city gets built up,'' said city management analyst Mark Oyler, who was working with the group. ``There's definitely a need to have a site available for those types of events. It's just we're running out of spaces.''